Queen Isabel of Bourbon Equestrian

The mounted format, applied to a queen

Court equestrian portraiture was built around a male sitter: a ruler or a commander whose right to be shown mounted was itself part of the claim. The format was also extended to consorts, and this is one of those entries. The title names Queen Isabel of Bourbon, and the catalogue files the work under portraiture, under both the male and the female heading, and under Animal Art > Horse. The job the animal performs does not change with the sex of the rider. It raises the sitter, carries the ceremonial weight, and is presented as governed.

What the record holds

The catalogue dates the work to 1635 and places it at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The dimensions are 301 x 314 cm, close to square and among the largest entries in this catalogue. Baroque is the recorded style and Spanish the recorded nationality. The measured colour families of the image are brown and yellow.

A cluster, counted rather than explained

Counting only what is assembled here: 3 equestrian portraits by this painter carry the date 1635 and the same Prado line, out of 11 records that name that collection. That is an observation about these records. Why the pictures share a year is not something the catalogue states, and this entry does not supply a reason.